Removal of mail from rural mailboxes presents a problem for the driver of a vehicle in that a long and difficult reach to the back of the box may be required, especially for the larger standard sizes of mailboxes made in accordance with standards of the United States Postal Service. In some instances, the driver may be required to step out of the vehicle to retrieve mail in the back of the box or to pick up mail that falls to the ground owing to dropping the mail because of the awkward position in which his hand and arm are placed in withdrawing the mail.
Various approaches to providing for easier retrieval of mail from mailboxes are disclosed in prior art patents. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,714,192; 4,121,758; and 3,606,140 disclose use of slidable mail-holding trays that may be pulled forward when the door is opened to bring the mail within reach. Extensible, forwardly-sliding compartments that are nested or telescoped within a mailbox are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,163,356; 2,781,964; and 1,992,640. U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,520 shows a mailbox having a slidable tray within the enclosure and a transverse hinge spaced a considerable distance away from the front of the box. Upon sliding the tray until the hinge reaches the front end of the box, the door and front part of the tray, which is integral with the door, are tiltable downward. Mail located behind the hinge would not be tilted downward, and reaching well back into the box would still be required. The devices disclosed in these patents exhibit disadvantages in their complexity and varying degrees of incompatibility with standard rural mailboxes. It is desired to provide a mailbox or insertable mailbox tray for providing easier access to mail that requires minimized structural changes from standard mailboxes and does not entail sliding of a mail-receiving compartment forward of the door hinge.